Paloma Faith reveals having children was the reason for split from husband Leyman Lahcine as ‘men struggle to be put second’ but insists it was ‘worth it’

Paloma Faith has admitted that having children with her ex-husband Leyman Lahcine led to the breakdown of their marriage.

The singer, 42, married the French artist, 36, in 2017 and they welcomed two daughters together before splitting in 2022 after nine years together.

In addressing their divorce, she has admitted that becoming a parent irreversibly changed their relationship as she was unable to give Leyman the same attention as before.

Paloma welcomed their first daughter in December 2016, followed by their second in February 2021.

Speaking to the Independentshe said: ‘Either you grow together, adapting to each other like expandable foam and filling in the gaps where it is empty – or one person grows and the other stays the same.

‘And I think becoming a mother for me was such a hugely life-changing experience that for the first time in my life I needed more than nothing – and the expandable foam just wasn’t there.’

She was brutally honest, adding, “Our relationship ended because we have those kids. And I think it was worth it.”

Last month, Paloma became even more candid about her split from Leyman, explaining that “resentment arose” when she could no longer “put him first.”

Speak with The timesthe Only Love Can Hurt Like This hitmaker added that she now has a good relationship with the father of her children as there are no ‘expectations’ placed on any of them.

Paloma explained: ‘I have a very good relationship with the children’s father, so sometimes I think, “What are we doing? Why aren’t we together?”

‘But the key to the success of our relationship now is the absence of expectations. Expectation leads to disappointment.’

She added that most of the problems were due to the fact that she could no longer give Leyman the attention he had enjoyed when they were childless, saying: “Men like to come first and resentment grows.” ‘

Paloma added, “It’s nice to cuddle, but what people want from a relationship is something I can’t give right now. Men have trouble coming second!’

She recently released her sixth album, The Glorification of Sadness, which chronicles the stages of grief she went through after the breakup.

Paloma appeared on BBC Breakfast last month and insisted the record is not a ‘revenge album’, but revealed Leyman will not be listening to it.

She explained, “I feel like when you listen to the album, it’s very focused on my internal experience. It’s not a finger-pointing album, it’s not a revenge album.

‘It’ is all about my inner experience and in a way I think it’s quite positive because they’ve listened to it and have a bit more empathy.’

She insisted: ‘I’m not an angry person. I realized in a very hyper-aware way that it takes two people to start a relationship, just as it takes two people to end it.

“And it’s more about me accepting responsibility on my part than me saying you did this or that. It’s not a public blame game.”

However, she revealed that Leyman had not listened to the record and did not want to hear it in full, with Paloma only playing him one song.

She said: ‘My partner and I actually have a very good relationship. Obviously he’s creative, so he’s pretty empathetic to everything, but he hasn’t really listened to the record. He doesn’t really want to, he says, “Play me whatever parts you want me to hear.”

‘I played Divorce for him because for me it’s the only one that’s really about him. All the others are about my own experience and I was like, you have to hear this one.”

It comes after Paloma previously admitted she had a ‘nervous breakdown’ after the split, saying it was ‘the worst thing that’s happened to me’.

She appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show and discussed her current relationship with Leyman, saying: ‘We are really good. We are doing very well and I think it is as good as it can be.

‘I don’t pretend to be like Gwyneth Paltrow, I don’t consciously disconnect. ISometimes it’s terrible, but we’re navigating it and I think we’re doing a lot better than some married couples.”

“My observation is that the reason our relationship is so good now is because I don’t expect anything from him and vice versa.”

As for Leyman’s feelings about speaking so openly about their split, Paloma said, “He knows what he signed up for.”

She added: “He was a little disappointed when he saw the end of my How You Leave A Man video. He said, “Why am I in the trunk?” It’s a metaphor baby!

‘He was a bit offended. But he now knows that we are together forever – it means that the fact that our love came together and made these children is absolutely eternal, it is infinite.

‘We are in a different situation. I dedicated the album to him and my children to say this is infinite love.”